Some people are asking what's the big deal over #coronavirus in NC when there are "only" seven confirmed cases.
Three reasons:
1. There are almost certainly more than seven actual cases. The truth is we are under-testing due to a shortage of test kits (more on this later).
Three reasons:
1. There are almost certainly more than seven actual cases. The truth is we are under-testing due to a shortage of test kits (more on this later).
2. Nationally, the number of infected is doubling every week. That is exponential growth, which is difficult to conceptualize but basically means it starts off slow but then rapidly grows. It means we could go from 100 cases to 1,600,000 in 14 weeks - absent containment.
3. We don't have a vaccine (it's at least a year away) and - since we've never been exposed to this virus before - no one has any immunity built up.
We should know relatively soon whether this will be contained. If it isn't, then the focus is going to be on slowing the rate of infection so our hospitals don't become overwhelmed.
We do not want a situation like they have in northern Italy where this got completely out of hand in a matter of weeks and clogged all the hospitals. That's when the mortality rate can shoot up.
So we're washing our hands very often and refraining from handshakes and being otherwise sensible not just to keep ourselves healthy, but also to help *slow the overall rate of infection* to make sure hospitals can treat everyone who needs it.
Part of my job is making sure you have reliable information as this situation develops, so when I learn new things from DHHS I will update you.
Talk soon,
Jeff
Talk soon,
Jeff
